Evaluation of strength, agility and aerobic capacity in Brazilian football players

Study aim: To evaluate the levels of strength, agility and the maximal oxygen uptake (VO_2max) between the offensive and de­fensive teams of football players. Material and methods: In the present cross-sectional study, 20 male Brazilian football players were divided into an offensive group (OG, n = 10, age: 25.50 ± 6.15 years) and a defensive group (DG, n = 10, age: 22.50 ± 5.48 years). We used the dy­namometer for back and legs, the shuttle run test, and the Cooper test to evaluate strength, agility and VO_2max, respectively. Results: The independent Student t-test showed that the OG was significantly more agile than the DG (p < 0.05). The other variables did not show any statistically significant differences. In the OG there was a strong correlation between agility and VO2max (r = - 0.834, p = 0.003, r² = 0.70). However, in the DG there was a moderate correlation between the same variables (r = - 0.677, p = 0.031, r² = 0.46). This shows that the greater the agility is, the higher is the VO_2max. There was no correlation between the variables muscle strength and body fat percentage. Conclusions: The study showed that the OG has a better physical condition than the DG.